


Chicago

by SophieD



Series: Backstory on Sophie and Tara [7]
Category: Leverage
Genre: F/F, Macbeth - Freeform, Nigerian Job, References to Shakespeare, Theater - Freeform, Thief, actor actress, con artist, grifter - Freeform, play, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 19:30:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2240742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieD/pseuds/SophieD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sophie is tired of being a grifter.  Can she be an honest citizen or will someone pull her back into the life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chicago

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in the weeks before The Nigerian Job (the pilot) and tells the story of how Sophie came to be playing Lady Macbeth on the night Nate came looking for her.

"I just don't know anymore", I sigh softly. "Maybe I've done it all. It's not even a challenge for me anymore. I have everything I want, more than enough money. If it's not for the thrill of the game, then why am I still doing it?"

Tara doesn't answer. Just a slight hum to let me know she's still listening.

"I just don't know anymore", I sigh again.

I am lying in bed, my head resting on the soft part of Tara's shoulder. Her strong arm is wrapped around me and I can feel her breath in my hair.

We've been staying in a flat that I rented. It is on the top floor of the tallest apartment building on the waterfront. I chose it for the gorgeous view of Lake Michigan. The lake sparkles blue in the late morning sun. Spring is a wonderful time to be in Chicago I think. Spring is a wonderful time to be anywhere. I wonder if I would love Chicago this much in February?

I've been needing a break. The jobs , the people , the treasures, they all start to run together. There is no joy in planning the next con, no high when it is over. I’ve stolen everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve played so many parts. I am still good. The best I've been told. I haven't slipped even a little bit. I just haven't been feeling the desire. Midlife crisis I think.

I invited Tara to come stay with me in the flat. If anything is going to bring back my joie de vie time spent with Tara will do it. Tara grounds me. She reminds of who I really am. I spend so much time being other people that I tend to forget about myself, what I like and who I love. I sigh again and Tara pulls me tighter.

"Maybe it's time for me to do something else. I could go back to the stage? Or maybe try for some movie and tv work?"

Another "mmmmm" from Tara.

She's probably thinking about how much she hates the theatre. I've been dragging her to all sorts of shows since we've been here. She tries. I know she tries hard for me but she gets so antsy. A couple of glasses of wine at intermission and a hand high on her thigh helps her sit still l but she's still ready to jump out of her skin when it's finally done. Poor thing has all that energy to burn when we get back to the flat. I wonder if she'll ever figure out that what happens after is part of the fun in taking her to the theatre in the first place? Speaking of antsy, Tara is starting to squirm. She probably wants to get up to go run or to swim or something equally dreadful. I sigh again. Not my idea of fun.

I'm not ready to give up my warm bed or my comfortable pillow. I push myself up onto my elbow and bring my mouth to Tara's breast. She catches on immediately, wrapping me up in her arms and pulling me on top of her. She can swim later.

At dinner I bring it up again. "Maybe I'm just getting too old for the life. Maybe it's time I try something else, be someone else."

Tara looks at me with a puzzled look. . "You mean go legit?" she asks. She looks incredulous. "Why on earth would you ever want to do that?"

"I don't know" I answer. "To settle down I guess. Try to live a normal life for a change."

"But Sophie," she says, "you and me, we're not normal. We weren't meant to live that kind of life. It's what makes us who we are."

"What if I forget who I am?" I ask.

She opens her mouth to answer but has no words for me.

"It's ok," I tell her as I take her hand and give it a squeeze.

 

We walk in silence along Lakeshore Drive, hand in hand. Back in the flat, Tara falls to sleep quickly,  
wrapped tight in my arms. I don't sleep. Too many thoughts are swirling around in my mind.

 

The next morning I tell Tara that I’ve decided to stick around Chicago for a while and give the acting thing ago. She looks dubious. I laugh and tell her that acting like an honest citizen may be the role of my life. She laughs too.

“I’m sure you will be amazing at whatever you decide to do,” she says.

It's my turn to be dubious.

“I know one thing that we are good at”, I tell her.

Another quiet hum is all I get. She stretches to her full length, exposing her chest to me. That’s all the incentive I need. I reach for her as she starts to roll away. I grab her by the hair wrapping my hand around the back of her head and try to pull her back to me.

“Sophie”, she whines, “I need to swim.”

“You can swim later,” I tell her as I pull her face close to mine.

She feigns protest one more time before giving in and kissing me. I still have a hold of the back of her head and pull her harder to me. Her hand lands on the side of my ribcage and starts to slide downward along my body.

“I really need to swim,” she mumbles.

“Mmm hmmm” is my only answer as I release her head and start my own hand down her side. We lay nose to nose, letting our hands wander for a while before we get serious and look for the spots that we know will drive each other crazy.

Tara finally makes it down to the lake for her swim and I make a few phone calls. I tell the landlord that I will be staying indefinitely in the flat. I call an associate in London and arrange to have some of my treasures transferred to a storage facility here in Chicago. I have plenty of money in a local bank but, in my line, I mean my previous line of work, you never know when you may need to come up with a large amount of cash quickly. A few possible scenarios run through my mind and I shiver.

  
I fire up the laptop and quickly write up a resume then start searching for auditions. I find one that looks interesting. A very small company is looking to cast Macbeth. With a tingle of excitement I call to make an appointment. They are holding auditions today. Can I come right down? I leave a quick note for Tara and call down for a cab.

  
The theatre is small and dark and very warm. A flood of memories come rushing back to me. I can’t believe I’ve come back full circle to where I started. The theatre is empty except for a table and 3 occupied chairs on the stage. As I get closer, I see the director in the middle. He looks very tired. Four empty paper coffee cups are on the table in front of him. The gentleman to his right is sound asleep and snoring lightly, upright in his chair. The girl to his left is absently drawing squiggles on her notepad.

  
I hand my resume to the director and he slides it to the girl without glancing at it. She starts to draw circles in the margin. I step back, ready to start my monologue when the director waves at me to stop. He asks me if I’ve been on stage before. I tell him yes.

“Shakespeare?”

“My favorite”.

“Ok” he says.

“Ok?” I ask.

“Yeah” he tells me, “we’ve been having trouble casting Lady Macbeth, finding an actress of the right…um…” He begins inspecting my shoes.

“Of the right age?” I offer. “The right height?”

“Um yeah.” he agrees, still staring at my shoes. “Can you start rehearsal on Sunday?”

I assure him I will be there. That night I take Tara out for a fancy dinner and then we head home to celebrate.

  
Tara is getting restless. She doesn’t want this kind of life. Maybe once she did but that was a long time ago, in another lifetime. I tell her she needs to go. Get back to work. Stop worrying about me. She doesn’t look so sure but she does have a buyer in New York looking to acquire a few things.

She comes and goes from the flat for the next weeks, staying over between short jobs, never being gone for more than two or three nights at a time. I tell her that her concerns are not necessary, that I’m fine. I won’t do anything without calling her first. She kisses me and says she knows. She just misses me.

  
It’s only a week before my show opens and Tara has shown up on my doorstep again. I greet her with a big kiss. I know why she’s here but I am still glad for her company and more than just a little hungry for her love. This is starting to become a very bad habit I think as I take her hand and lead her to the bedroom!

  
Several hours later we are sitting at a sushi bar, drinking sake and nibbling on whatever tidbits the chef slides in front of us. She asks me how the play is going. I shake my head.

“I don’t know Tara. It’s strange. The director doesn’t ever seem to give me any direction. It’s perplexing and more than a little unsettling. And then he always goes out for a smoke break during my big monologue.”

“Maybe you’re just so good that he doesn’t think he has anything to offer you,” she suggests.

I shake my head. I appreciate her confidence but I am pretty sure that’s not the case.

  
Later that evening we are sitting on the sofa. I am idly flipping through a People magazine and Tara is writing in a note book.

“Oh” she says suddenly, “you’ll never guess who I saw in a bar in the airport?”

I have no idea so I wait for her to tell me.

“It was that insurance guy.”

She never calls him by his name, only “that insurance guy”.

Nate Ford and I have played a cat and mouse game for many years, always with a lot of flirting but never anything more than that.

“He was drunk Sophie. I mean really drunk.”

I shrug.

“I haven’t heard you talk about him in a long time. I haven’t heard anything about him really.”

I drop my magazine in my lap. Very quietly I tell her, “His son died. Cancer I think. He was only 10. I sent flowers. I wanted to go and tell him how sorry I was but, you know, it wouldn’t have been appropriate with him and his wife and all.”

Tara murmurs how sorry she is. I swallow hard.

“Nate has never been able to get over it. I mean, well you don’t get over something like that but Nate, I heard that he was a mess, that he lost his job with the insurance company, he and his wife broke up. The drinking. Well that doesn’t surprise me. I can’t imagine it Tara. How do you get over losing everything important in your life? How do you go on when you have nothing left? Nothing at all.”

  
“Oh my God Sophie”, Tara exclaims. “Oh my God is this what it’s been all about? About him? And you? You feel like you’ve never done anything with your life? Never done anything important? That you’re going to have nothing when it’s done?”

Her words are true and they hit me hard. I stare at the floor and try to blink back burning tears. Suddenly Tara is wrapped around me, my head held tight to her chest.

“Sophie,” she whispers. “You have me. You’ll always have me.”

The tears come and I feel Tara’s tears as well as they drop to my face and mix with mine.

Tara leaves again in the morning. She doesn’t want to but I tell her she has to. I need to study. I will have rehearsals every night until the opening on Saturday. She kisses me and hugs me too tight. I have to push her away. She promises she’ll be back for opening night. I promise to save a seat right up front for her. The flat feels very small and very cold without her in it.

  
I think a lot about Nate Ford being in Chicago. I wonder what he’s doing here. Is he working again? Tara said he was drunk so maybe not. Nate has always been professional. Is it a coincidence that we’re both here in the same city? If not a coincidence, why hasn’t he tried to contact me? Why would he anyway? I haven’t stolen anything in weeks.

  
Opening night and I am a bundle of nerves. I am in the one small dressing room, trying to find some space, running trills with my voice, making sure all of my costumes are where they need to be. Somehow Tara sneaks backstage and surprises me with an armful of white roses.

She kisses me on the lips and whispers “break a leg”.

She promises she will see me at the stage door after the show. I can’t see her from the stage but I know she’s in the front row and that gives me confidence. Neither of us notice the four strangers who slip into seats in the back of the theatre.

  
I feel like the show goes fairly well. Maybe I need to spend a bit more time practicing before I jump into another difficult role. The audience claps and stands at the end but I don’t hear much enthusiasm. The director congratulates us on a job well done. He will call and let us know when the next performance will be. I don’t expect I’ll hear from him again. I tried my best. I can say that. I think that probably I am better at grifting than acting. I need to think about that for a while.

  
I dress quickly. I just want to get out of the warm theatre. I want to see Tara and let her lie to me about how wonderful I was over a couple of strong drinks. The cool air outside rushes in as I open the door to the alley. I pause and let it wash over me. I don’t see Tara. That surprises me. Was it that bad that she can’t face me, can’t come up with a decent lie? I look down the alley and I see four figures under the street light. One steps forward and starts to clap.

“My only fan!” I exclaim and give him a big smile.

Over his shoulder I can see Tara. She smiles at me and waves then turns and disappears into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments and helpful criticism


End file.
